Machine for washing, drying, and polishing fruits



Oct. 31, 1939. s 2,178,185

MACHINE FOR WASHING, DRYING, AND POLISHING FRUITS Filed Sept. 6, 1934 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 R TB Oct. 31, 1939. E. NICHOLSON ,1 85

MACHINE FOR WASHING, DRYING, AND POLISHING FRUITS Filed Sept. 6, 1954 '4 Sheets-Sheet 2 .3 mm [mmeflMMa/aon Oct. 31, 1939.. E. NICHOLSON 2178185 MACHINE FOR WASHING, DRYING, AND POLISHING FRUITS Filed Sept. 6, 1934 4 Sheets-Sheet s -.Z1 6 17 14 14 1.5 7 v 7 7 e 0 L a a .78 k & iii. .iiiii. V.

3 1939- v E.,NICHOLSON MACHINE FOR WASHING, DRYING, AND PQLISHING FRUITS Filed Sept. 6, 1934 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Oct. 31, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT ore-ion .mormm FOR wasnnvo, nmznva, AND

- romsnnvo murrs Emmett Nicholson, Winter Park, Fla, ansignor to Ken-Jon, Inc., Orlando, Fla.

Application September 6,1934, Serial No. 742,965

' 7.0laims. (01. 146-202) 5, by subjecting the same to a,high speed brushing action, to rid the skin of the fruit of moisture.

and dry the same, as after some preliminary washing treatment, while preventing the disadvantageous throwing of the fruit about during the brushing operation.

More specifically, the invention includes a specially advantageous arrangement for, or manner of treatment of the brushing action on the fruit whereby to eliminate, as far as possible, the tendency of the fruit to be thrown out of or away from the treating zone, this being preferably accomplished by having the contacting of the fruit with the brush at the side of the brush or at a point a little above a. point horizontally opposite the axis of the brush.

The invention further embraces certain new and useful improvements in a machine forwashing, drying, and polishing fruits or the like, and

deals particularly with a type of structure wherein said operations are attained by associating a feed mechanism with a rotary brush element which efiectively washes or scrubs the fruit, then during its and will then'dispense said moisture through centrifugal action or force; the provision of a feed mechanism wherein the fruit or the like is subjected to a turning action so that all surfaces thereof will be acted uponbythe revolvable body .or brush member; the provision ofa guard for use in someinstances with the high speed brush to control the degree of peripheral contact of the brushwith the fruit orvegetable undergoing treatment; the provision of other guard at spaced intervals and extending from side wall to side wall or the base structure 2'.

means that may be availed of and found help- 45 ful in preventing the fruit or the like from being centrifugally thrown from the machine;'the provision of a member which is associated with relatively slow-moving feed mechanism to remove the moisture that accumulates thereon; and means for adjusting said other guard means to accommodate fruit or other articles being treated in the machine.

These and other objects will readilypresent themselves to-those skilled in the art when the following specification is read inconnection with the attached drawings wherein I have disclosed the preferred embodiments of my invention, but I wish it understood that variations in structural details may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of my invention. Thescope of I protection will be apparent from. the appended claims.

In the attached drawings, similar letters of reference indicate like parts throughout the several views, wherein 10 Figure 1 is a side elevation of the machine for handling the fruit or the like;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the structure shown in Figure 1; I

Figure 3 is an end view illustrating the drive 1 Figure 5 is a fragmentary plan view illustrating the hood, the guard fingers and the conveyor 20 roll or member; v

Figure 6 is an enlarged view of the guard fingers, the shield, and the rotary conveyor and brush cleaning element;

Figure 7 is .a front view of the guard element 25 showing its manner of association with the high speed brush. This view is taken on-line 1-1 of Figure 6, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 8 is a sectional view showing a modifi form of guard which may be used; 30

Figure 9 is a further modification suggesting the use of a belt conveyor in lieu of the roller conveyor; and

Fig. 10 is a composite-view illustrating various forms of brushes and conveyors which may be ,35

used if desired; 7

Suitable framework illustrated by legs land a base structure 2 form the support for the washing, drying, and polishing sections designated by characters'A', B, and C, respectively. Journals3 40 are engaged within the end walls 4 of the base structure 2, and if desired-additional journals may be provided on cross supports 5 arranged Extending longitudinally of the machine and rotatably supported in the journals 3 are a series of pairs of rotary members. The member des-' ignated G is termed the cleaning or polishing brush, while 1 indicates the feed member. The 50 feed member 1 maybe constructed by providing a spiral wrapping or rib around the surface of a cylinder or by spirally grooving the bristles of a .brush. It may further take the form wherein V the bristles are set in a spiral, or as suggested in 55 In the present machine it has been found desirable to rotate the brush at a relatively high 15 speed, it having been ascertained that satisfactory drying begins or may be accomplished at a peripheral speed of 900 feet per minute, while the feed member I is rotated at a relatively low peripheral speed, from say 100 to. 200 feet per 20 minute as a minimum depending upon the desired capacity or output of the machine. It

should be kept in mind, however, that the speed I 'of the brushes is dependent on the size of the brush and the peripheral speed thereof necessary as to throw off water. At a speed substantially below that indicated above, the brush will not throw of! enough water to be altogether satisfactory. Obviously, the brush can be operated at a much higher speed, as governed by tempera- ,30 ture. humidity, cost of increased speed. etc.,

readily ascertained from conditions entering any given operation.

' The action of the feed member 'I is to transport the fruit or the like undergoing treatment in the machine and while in transit to present said fruit to the rotating action of the cleaning brush I. The surface ofthe feed brush may be given a spiral formation, either by grooving the bristles as shown at I, or by arranging the bristles in a spiral formation as shown at I, or by providingspiral ribs or protuberances on a cylinder as suggested at II, or by any of the other forms shown in Figure 10. However, as can be seen from the proportion of the parts in Fig. 10, the depth of the spiral is to be relatively slight so that the article will not be confined within the groove of the spiral but may move out and over the same in its passage through the valley, as for instance, when it is being crowded or pushed 50 by on-coming fruit behind it, yet the grooves or spirals are pronounced enough to exert an ad- 'vancingmovement to the fruit or article along the valley when resting upon the cylinder. In rotating the brush In a high speed, advantage 5 can be taken of the resultant centrifugal force of said brush to effectively dispose of the moisture that it will gather from the wet fruit and dis-' pense said, moisture in spray or mist form. A hood or shield il may be arranged over each of w the cleaning brush elements I for the P11113086 of collecting. the moisture that will be thrown from these brushes due to their high rate of rotation. This accumulated moisture will eventually find its way to the drip pan II arranged beneath the bed of the machine and will be drained therefrom by the vent II. A deflector plate II is secured to each hood, which plate is for the purpose of directing the fruit into the proper position to be acted upon by the revolv- 7 ing members I and I.-

The brush I is mounted at a slightly elevated position over that of the mounting of the feed-' ing member I, as is clearly shown'in Figures 4 and 6, thereby forming 75 trough for the reception of the fruit. If

an angular V-shaped which extends substantially radially with respect to the brush on the valley side of the brush, thus constituting a retaining bar to prevent the fruit 10 from, being centrifugaily thrown from the machine. In order to reduce this hazard to a minimum guard fingers or grid I1 is associated with each brush element I and extends from the forward end of the hood I! to the rail II. The intermediate portions of'the fingers II are arcuate, conforming substantially to the contour of the brush and lie fora distance below a peripheral portion of the cleaning brush element I. These guard-fingers are intended to limit for a substantially uniform distance the degree of contact oi' the rotating brush with the surface of the fmit, or the like undergoing treatment in the machine, within the effective brushing area of the brush.

In order to remove the excess moisture that will necessarily accumulate on the slowly revolving feed brush or member 1, there is provided beneath each and in contact therewith a high speed auxiliary revolving brush element II. These auxiliary brush elements are adapted to take the excess moisture from the feed member 1 and to centrifuge the same into the drain or drip pan l2.

There is positioned over the major portion of the machine an arched cover which for the sake of convenience is provided with hinged sections designated 19. In order to assist in the disposal of the mist. or spray from beneath the arched cover, exhaust fans 2| may be positioned in any 40 desired place within the roof of the arch or if preferred within the end walls, as shown in Figure 1.

At the-entrance end of the machine there is provided a feed chute 2! by which the fruit is is directed into the washing compartment A. This compartment may have a series of spray pipes 22 located therewithin and directly above the line of fruit undergoing treatment. Any type of washing solution may be used to cleanse the w fruit, but it has been found that hot borax water is probably the best. From the washing cornpartment the fruit will be fed to the drying compartment B, and here the moisture is removed from the surface of the fruit. The final covered section of the machine is intended to be the polishing compartment 0 wherein the fruit is subjected to a batting action to produce a polish thereon. To assist in this final operation an emulsified wax, powdered wax, or the like may be sprayed on the fruit from the conduit II shown in'Figure 1. Also if desired, a heating element II may be arranged beneath the table at the polishing section of the machine.

The exit section of the machine may be left uncovered, as suggested in Figure 2, to permit the removal of the fruit. 4

The necessary power to operate the high speed brushes is furnished by a motor II which through transmission gearing located within box II drives the transversely arranged shaft 11. The shaft I I! has a pulley -2I for each brush element I and drives-the latter through belt connections 29-". The feed brushes or members 1 'are driven by belt connections from pulley II which in turn 15 savages is driven irommotor 32 through any conven-' tional type of gearing arranged within boxing 33.

In Figure 8 there is shown a modified form of the-machine in which the hood or shield'is adjustable for the purpose of settingthe machine 35 is pivotally secured to a pintle or the like, v

as suggested at 31. An inward extending strut or bar 38 is secured to the plate member 34, and a depending lever 39 is pivotally connected at 40 to said bar 38.' The lever 39 is pivotally mounted as at 4| and is adapted to be moved through its connection 42 with an actuating rod 43. Any suitable means maybe used to hold the actuating rod-in its desired adJusted position; and as an illustration of one form, said rod may be serrated as at 44 for interlocking engagement with a tongue or stationary plate member 45.

Also shown in Figure 8 is a modified form of the guard plate or grid l1, which in this case is yieldingly supported in position on coiled spring members 46.

In Figure 9 the member 41 is intended to illustrate a belt which is arranged at an angle to the highspeed revolving brush 6. This belt travels at a relatively low speed and progressively transports the fruit along the longitudinal face of the brush 6.

The operation of the machine is as follows:

The fruit or the like is fed into the inlet end 01 the machine and is immediately directed into the trough that is formed between the cleaning and the conveyor elements. During the transit of the fruit through the machine it will be constantly rotated or turned by the conveyor I so that the cleaning brush 6 will contact with the entire surface thereof. The cleaning solution will be sprayed onto the several lines of fruit within the washing compartment A, and said Y fruit in its transit through this compartment will be acted upon by the swiftly revolving cleaning brush 6. The feed member 1 will continue to advance the fruit into 'the next compartment which is designated the drying compartment B. The high speed of the cleaning brush elements 6 W ll cause them initially to take up the moisture from thesuriace of the fruit and subsequently to,disperse said moisture by centrifugal action onto the inner surface of the overlying hood or directly into the drip panarranged beneath the machine. I

It will be noted that the guard or grid elements are associated with the cleaning brushes so as to be slightly within the peripheral edge L said brushes. This is for the purpose of limiting the action of the brush on the surface 0! the fruit or the like undergoing treatment. It has been found that the cleaning brush elements may be given an eikceedingly high rate of rotation, as stated above, withoutfany danger of throwing the fruitv from the machine. The retaining element I t that is formed along the forward edge of each shield II also assists inmaintaining the fruit in the proper position or within the active zone of the cleaning brush elements it the machine is overloaded with fruit so that there is a crowding of the fruit over each other.

After the fruit has passed through the drying compartment B it enters into the polishing compartment C, and just prior to its entry therein it may be sprayed with a waxy solution which will materially assist in highly polishing the sam and at the same time act as a preser'ver,

After leaving the polishing section the fruit is fed to the outer end of the machine where it may be removed and packed ior shipment.

What I claim is: v 1. In a fruit drying machine comprising a low speed feed member for conveying fruit through the machine, a high speed rotary brush element adapted to peripherally contact with the fruit while on the conveyor to remove the surface moisture therefrom, and a high speed revolving brush for removing the moisture accumulated on the feed member.

2. In a fruit dryingmachine comprising a slow speed feed member for conveying fruit through the machine, a high speed rotary brush element I member operatively associated with the feed member for removing the moisture accumulated on said feed membbr.

3. In a machine of the type described, for treating fruit or other rollableobjects, comprising a rotatable brush of some length and means arranged .at one side of the brushior conveying said objects along the length of said brushvand forming a trough or valley therebetween for receiving said articles, means for rotating the brush at a high speed, a member extending substantially the length of the brush and lying radially beyond the brush and above said trough, and means for adjusting the position of said member about the axis of said brush and with respect to said trough for reducing the effective peripheral brushing area of the brush within said trough for articles of different sizes.

4. In a machine of the type described, for treating fruit or other rollable objects, comprising a rotatable brush of some length and means arranged at one side of the brush for conveying said objects along the length of said brush and forming a trough or valley therebetween for receiving said articles, means for rotating the brush at a high speed, a member extending substantially radially from the periphery of the brush, and means for adjusting the position of said means about the axis of the brush and with respect'to said trough for reducing the efiective peripheral brushing area of the brush within said trough for articles of different sizes, said member being normally arranged with respect to the periphery oi the brush to prevent the articles from being thrown from the machine by centrifugal force from the brush.

5. In a machine of the character described for treating fruit and other rollable objects, a plurality of rotatable brushes arranged in spaced rerespective brushes and lying substantially radially beyond each brush and above its associated trough, and means for simultaneously adjusting said last mentioned means for varying the efi'ective brushing surface of each-brush for fruit of varying sizes and positioned with respect to the periphery 0! its associated brush to prevent fruit in the respective troughs from being thrown therefrom by centrifu al force.

6. Ina fruit cleaning machine comprising in combination a revolvable brush, a conveying mechanism arranged in, longitudinal relation with the brush and adapted to transport fruit through the machine and in contact with the revolvable brush, and a series of bars spaced apart a distance less than the width of the fruit to be treated and each bar being of a width less than the width of the fruit being treatedand arranged inwardly of the periphery of the rehorizontal axis, a conveying means arranged in longitudinal relation with the brush to form a valley or trough therebetween to receive fruit and adapted to transport the fruit through the machine in contact with the revolvable brush,

and means extending from the trough side or the brush and substantially radially therefrom to partially overhang the trough, whereby to prevent the ejection of the fruit from the machine by the centrifugal action of said brush.

EMME'I'I' NICHOLSON. 

